


Beauty Of Misdirection, The

by scullyseviltwin



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode: s02e13 Bartlet's Third State of the Union, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-08-02
Updated: 2004-08-02
Packaged: 2019-05-30 22:04:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15105773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scullyseviltwin/pseuds/scullyseviltwin
Summary: Josh thinks about what Joey said... is Donna really trying to misdirect him?





	Beauty Of Misdirection, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**The Beauty Of Misdirection**

**by: ScullyAsTrinity**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna  
**Category(s):** Friendship  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Josh thinks about what Joey said... is Donna really trying to misdirect him?  
**Spoiler:** Bartlet's Third State Of The Union  
**Author's Note:** This is my first West Wing piece, though not nearly my first fan fiction. Though this was hastily written I really like it. 

I told her that numbers don't lie. That's what Professor Richman had told me freshman year. Joey countered me. 

"They lie all the time." She told me." They lie when seventy-two percent of Americans say they're tired of a sex scandal, while all the while, newspaper circulation go through the roof for anyone 

featuring the story. If you polled a hundred Donnas and asked them if they think we should go out, you'd get a high positive response. But, the poll wouldn't tell you it's because she likes you. And she knows it's beginning to show and she needs to cover herself with misdirection." 

I'm not one for backseat tactics, and neither am I a lawyer. I have no right to judge people, or tell people that their opinion is wrong. However, Joey Lucas's opinion is most certainly one hundred percent incorrect. Donnatella Moss can in no way be harboring any feelings towards me in any manner. Not only because that would be incredibly risky and dangerous, but also because... 

It would mean that she and I felt the same way and as such are idiots for running circles around the other without making a move. Make no mistake. I am absolutely, positively taken, captivated (and give me the plethora of synonyms that one can extract from any thesaurus) by my assistant. My Renaissance gorgeous, randomly witty, breathtakingly compassionate and strikingly intelligent assistant. 

If Donna had any feelings towards me, I think I would know. I mean, the feelings are towards me, so it would only be logical that I would notice them. Or perhaps what CJ said to me last week was actually true. How did it go precisely? Ah yes, I'm appallingly oblivious to half the things that are going on around me. 

So here I sit at my desk, feet propped up, repetitiously bouncing a tennis ball off my precariously balanced chalkboard. A good a plan as any at this point. Besides, I need some time ponder. Ponder the mind of Donna. 

I wonder if Donna knows that Joey knows. For that matter, I wonder if Donna knows that she herself knows. Maybe Joey's trying to divert me to Donna in order to take the pressure off her. Do I not attract her? Does she feel nothing for me? Wait, that's not the issue at hand, because I'm sure she feels something for me. 

The key to this is if whether Donna has any feelings towards me. Feelings like I have for her. This is far too difficult. I have degrees from Harvard and Yale, I should be able to dissect the mind of one woman. 

"Then why is it so damn hard?" I yell, quite loud in fact, just as my tennis ball finally forces my chalkboard to the floor. Damn it. Spectacular, here comes Toby. 

"Should I ask what's going on in here or do I want to know?" He asks me, his head peering around the door. I smirk at him and suddenly I wish I had my tennis ball back so I could beam him off of his shiny head. 

"Hey Toby, can I ask you a question?" 

"Not if it has anything to do with the wording I used in the speech. Apparently everyone has something to say." Needless to say, he comes in and sits down on the spare chair to my right. He sighs, and waits for me to phrase my question. Just to seem more serious, I take my feet off my desk and face him. 

"Right, well if someone had feelings towards me, I'd know it right?" I ask, knowing full well that he's going to have something non-productive to say. 

"Josh, I'm sorry, I meant to tell you, we're just not gonna work out." He smirks at me, and I scoff. 

"Seriously Toby. I mean, I had a woman tell me tonight that another woman was trying to set me up with the first woman because she was trying to divert me from her." Yeah, I got it all out in one breath. 

Toby just sits there confused for a minute. I'm not surprised, women problems aren't his forte. And I can't exactly say that was the most eloquent way for me to phrase that. He shakes his head a bit and gives me a skeptical look. *THE* skeptical look. "You're saying that Joey told you that Donna was trying to set you up with her because Donna's really-" He says this part quite condescendingly, "Afraid of her feelings for you?" 

Toby Zeigler never let it be said that you're anal retentiveness never yielded anything. "Wait, how-?" I ask, quite dumbfounded. "How did you..." 

"Well, I'd say that's about right Josh." Toby says, standing up. He rubs his hands on the legs of his pants. "Honestly Josh, this isn't the place to be discussing it, but seeing as how you're... how did CJ put it? Appallingly oblivious?" 

"Yeah something to that tune." My face fall, I can feel it hitting the floor. I am not appallingly oblivious. 

"Josh, if Donna came in here and professed her love for you, chances are you'd brush it off as stress or something to that tune." Perfect, now he was mocking me. I've given him material for the next several weeks. "But I see no reason for Donna and you not to... have something going on." I can tell he's uncomfortable with this now, as he begins to scuff his feet on the floor. "The way you two look at each other, flirt with each other..." And he can't even look at me. Why do I bother? He makes to continue when the person we were discussing enters the room. 

"Toby, CJ wants to see you in her office. Something about the police offer thing? She said you'd know." 

"Oh thank God." He said, and leaves in haste, his head down, his feet taking him quickly out of my sight. Good thing too, because I remembered I have my rubber band ball in the draw to my left. Something tells me that would hurt being beamed off of his head. I redirect my attention to the woman in front of me. 

Her blonde hair swings in the doorway as she turns her head to watch Toby leave. She waits until he's out of her range of vision and whips he head around, catching me stare at her. She chooses to ignore it. Walking in, she plants herself down where Toby was just sitting. 

"Now what was that all about? He seemed especially intent on leaving, Josh." Dear god, she captivates me and I don't even know why. I can't place my finger on one single reason, but she's just amazing in every possible way that I can't describe and she's talking and I'm not listening. I'm just watching her mouth move. 

"Huh? Oh. I was talking to Toby about..." Lie, tell the truth. Lie, tell the truth. Difficult... "About Joey Lucas." 

She grimaces for a fraction of a second and then resumes her cheery disposition. I think she knows that she knows she's not fooling me. "And what did he say?" She asks me, pretending to remove a bit of lint from her sweater. 

"Well, we both agreed that there were things that are closer to home," I stare at her for a moment, and look at my hands. For emphasis I look back at her. She blushes, and I'm honestly not quite sure how to take it. She's my best friend, my confidant, my employee and my boss... or so I feel. 

"I guess that's reasonable. But Josh, you do realize that this is the White House. And abstractly... or not so... that this is your home, and things are going on all the time. That shouldn't rob you of a social life. That shouldn't rob you of a chance for... well Josh, for love." Again, she cannot meet my eyes and my heart breaks. 

I'm nearing forty, and she's only twenty-seven. Joey is far superior to her accomplishments, and yet her drive is amazing. She makes under twelve thousand a year and she stays here. She had the drive, the intellect to be so much more and she stays here. 

"Donna..." I lean over and as softly as I can, take her hands in mine. "There are things *at home* that I need some time to attend to. Just so I know that I do it right. So I leave nothing behind. Besides, a relationship now just wouldn't be feasible, now would it?" 

She looks at me innocently, like always. What else would I really expect? "It's not my place to say Josh." She says and stands up. I swear I see tears in her eyes. 

I stand up as well, and move to her. It's so hard. So completely difficult to just articulate. "It is Donna, it's you." And really it's all I can think to say. I look into her eyes, and because I'm a coward, because I value the status quo too much, I kiss her on the cheek. But I linger. "You will always be the deciding vote." 

Just as I'm ready to disengage from her, I see Toby pass by the office. "It's the beauty of misdirection my dear." He blows me a kiss and walks away. Remind me to get intensely upset at him later. I look back at her over my shoulder as she leaves my office. 

It is the beauty of misdirection. She is. 


End file.
